My Little Sister Has Gone Mad
"Si—no. Sister! Please listen! I... I've discovered the truth of this world!"
My half-sister, barred from living in the Main Residence by Mother's will.
"You and I... we were characters in an otome game!"
After some time apart, she had, regrettably, become a complete fool.
"...I see."
What on earth had Father been thinking, leaving her to deteriorate to this state? Or perhaps it was precisely because he loved her that he left her alone — so she wouldn't be raised into a child like me.
"You're not even surprised...?"
"I am rather surprised, dear. I simply chose not to show it."
"Of course! That's our ultimate villainess for you!"
She committed rudeness as casually as breathing. Had she not been my sister, it would not have been strange to force her to her knees on the spot.
"So then, why are you sharing this supposedly vital truth with me? It isn't as though our relationship is particularly warm."
"We...ll, you see..."
My little sister, whose hair and eyes were utterly unlike my own. Where I had inherited Mother's dull black hair and ominous red eyes, she had taken after Father in every respect — sacred silver hair that shone like holy metal, and noble gold eyes. Those features alone must have accounted for a considerable share of Mother's near-hateful resentment toward her.
"It's a little... awkward to say."
"Then you needn't say it at all."
I had believed I harbored no ill will toward my sister, yet seeing her before me stirred a peculiar emotion all the same.
"I'm sorry for taking up your time. Sister shall take her leave—"
"I'll tell you! So please... don't go, Sister."
She sprang from her seat and seized my wrist with startling force. The maid standing watch, ready to scold her for the impropriety, made as if to rush forward at once — but I stopped her with a look.
"You have one chance. Hesitate again, and we're done."
"Understood, Sister."
What wind had blown through me that day, making me want to hear out my sister's nonsense? Even if I asked my future self, I doubt I would have found an answer. It was simply... that her trembling, pitiful gaze had moved me to pity.
"Sister... you were my bias."
"Your bias?"
"Yes! My absolute favorite character!"
But not even a full minute later, I already regretted it. I had heard she spent her days in the Annex lost in novels, but I never imagined her condition had deteriorated this far. I hadn't planned on packing her off to a convent, but... sigh.
"The final boss who stands in the heroine's way at the very end of every single route! Overwhelming charm that flaunts pure evil charisma without a single ruined scene!"
For now, I decided to simply listen. I was mildly curious how far this nonsense would go.
"And... looks that snagged fourth place in a popularity poll off a single pre-release illustration."
"Sister, you were my ideal type in every possible way! I didn't even care about otome games, but I played yours all the way to the end!"
Illustration? Game? ...My sighs only multiplied.
"This joke has gone far enou—"
Before I could finish, she had seized my wrist again. For a girl who had supposedly done nothing but read books locked away at home, her strength was far beyond what I expected. I couldn't even begin to pull free. She seized the opening and pressed on.
"Sister! I sincerely want to protect you!"
"I beg your pardon?"
"If things continue as they are, you will definitely be ruined! And miserably, at that...!"
"I want to save you from that wretched fate!"
Years of dealing with young ladies who concealed their true intentions in high society had taught me a certain skill — the ability to see through what people really felt. I could not read minds, exactly, but I prided myself on a rather high rate of accuracy.
Lucia... she truly bears me goodwill.
And so I could gauge, if only a little, just how vast and deep that pure goodwill of hers ran. Five years since my debut in high society. In all that time, had there ever been anyone who loved me without asking for something in return?
"First, let go of my arm, Lucia."
"Ah—yes! I'm so sorry..."
Ordinarily I ought to have sent her to a convent before she became a disgrace to the family — but I revised my thinking slightly. I would hear her story through to the end. And if it still proved to be nonsense afterward, I simply wouldn't let her leave the Annex. I'd let her read all the novels she wanted, drop by now and then to listen to her rambling, and enjoy a bit of conversation.
Yes. That sounded rather nice.
"Calm yourself and tell Sister everything you know, Lucia. I've decided to devote this entire day to you."
"Lilith!"
Overcome with emotion, my sister reached for my hand again — then, apparently recalling the earlier incident, she gave an awkward little laugh and meekly rested her hands on the table instead.
Heh... how precious.
"...Sister, there's something I should tell you first."
"Go on."
"I can't teach you every truth at this point in time. If we accidentally stray from the scenario I know... things beyond imagination might happen."
I nodded at my leisure. Whether Lucia hid the truth or not, I would never have known the difference. If anything, her blunt honesty only deepened the goodwill I felt toward her.
"Thank you for understanding, Sister. Then I'll begin."
Straightening her posture, my sister continued in a grave tone.
First: the place we inhabited was a world inside a game. An otome game — the ideal world of a young girl's dreams. Apparently it had been a massive hit where she originally lived, a masterpiece that even received an anime adaptation and a theatrical film, though I hadn't the faintest idea what any of that meant.
At any rate, in that game, she and I had been cast as the final boss and the heroine. A scenario in which a little sister long abused by me forged bonds with all manner of people, finally defeated me, and reclaimed her happiness. And so, to change that bleak future, she wanted us sisters to work together in harmony. That was her story.
...This is bad.
I could not make heads or tails of a single thing she was saying. Another world? Computer games? ...No. Change your thinking, Lilith. Even if she were spinning some elaborate fantasy, no one without a novelist's talent could speak with this level of detail. I had to assume there was a high probability that Lucia was telling me nothing but the truth.
"Lucia. By your account, would it be fair to say you already have a fair grasp of the events yet to come?"
"...Yes. I even know that your fiancé, the Crown Prince, is actually a body double — and that the real Crown Prince is sleeping as though dead."
My heart gave a violent lurch.
A state secret known only to a handful of people in the entire Empire. A matter of the highest importance that a girl confined to the Annex could never possibly have learned.
"...You understand now, don't you, Sister?"
"Yes. I understand perfectly."
That Lucia had grasped even future events I myself did not know. And alongside that realization came a flicker of doubt — whether the being before me was truly the fragile little sister I remembered.
It was almost as if... she had become an entirely different person.
"Hehe... I'm so relieved. I worried so much about what I'd do if you didn't believe me."
That flicker of doubt...
"From now on, just trust me, Sister! No matter what happens, I'm on your side!"
"Heh. Very well, little sister."
...was one I could set aside in a corner of my heart soon enough. However Lucia behaved, she had not strayed far from the essence I knew. Just as I had stepped forward to stop Mother's torment the first time I laid eyes on this child...
"Um... Sister. In that spirit, there's one favor I'd like to ask of you right away."
"What favor? Asking me to take you out of the Annex would be difficult to grant at once, but most other things should be possible."
"Please... look down on me and step on me!"
...Perhaps I ought to start questioning things after all.
"Yes, those eyes! The ones that look at people like insects... Aah, seeing them in person is so thrilling...! Ah—! D-don't go... Sister!"
She refused to let go of my skirt, and so I was forced to hear her out. Summarized, her persuasion ran as follows:
By now, Sister's bullying should have been ongoing, and the people around her should have been looking on with pity. But because no bullying had occurred, her comfortable life had continued uninterrupted, and the events that ought to have triggered never did. Therefore, even if it was only for show, she wanted Sister to torment her...
"...It may not end up being for show, Lucia."
"That's fine! If it's Sister's bullying, I could take a branding iron to the back and still endure it!"
Frankly, a chill ran down my spine. The goodwill was welcome, but I had not asked for this.
...Sigh.
"Lie down... This is the last time."
Lucia obeyed the command with the devotion of a dog, sprawling flat on the courtyard ground. Surely Mother was not watching this spectacle. However much she despised Lucia, I doubted she would find the sight of me doing this to a ten-year-old young lady particularly pleasant.
...Is that her signal to step?
Taking Lucia's nod as my cue, I pressed my foot firmly into my sister's stomach.
"Lucia."
"Augh!"
"How could you make such a request of your sister?"
"I'm sooorry...!"
"Filthy. Disgusting."
"Haaahng..."
From now on, whenever I saw a young lady being harassed by older noblemen in high society, I resolved to help her at once. They must have been feeling something rather similar to what I felt now.
"Harder, harder! Step on me harder!"
Tears streamed from my sister's eyes — whether of pain or of joy, I could not tell. I would have preferred they were from pain.
"Getting stepped on by my bias... this is the best..."
And so, against the backdrop of my sister's rapturous screams, the bizarre collaboration between us sisters began that day.